Life's Sweet
by Firemoon
Summary: 2! Meet students of New Helic High; they are friendly, they are athletic, they are creative, they are crazy... they are teenagers. A story of adjusting to new life, new friends, and just simply enjoying life’s sweets.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Yes, yes, the same old boring phrase.. see my bio.

**Rating:** PG-13 for languages.

**Pairing:** None planned.. yet.

**Category:** General

**Summary:** Meet students of New Helic High; they are friendly, they are athletic, they are creative, they are crazy... they are teenagers. A story of adjusting to new life, new friends, and just simply enjoying life¡¯s sweets. But sometimes, you just got to endure some bitter tidbits that life hands out.

**Authoress¡¯ note:** This is an **AU fic**! **AU** is **Alternate Universe**, meaning that the Zoid characters are in completely different surroundings from the Chaotic Century and the Guardian Force-episodes. 

**Authoress¡¯ note number two:** I solemnly swear that this is my original idea and if it sounds a bit similar to many of the High-school stories out there, it is not my fault. It¡¯s just that this idea is becoming a bit of a cliché. I know many people have done this AU high-school thing, but this has been nagging at my brain for some months now and I just had to write this down. I swear this by my whole career as a fan fiction writer [although it isn¡¯t much], my Draco Malfoy doll [which still remains as one of my prized possessions], my Raven pictures [on which my life may depend, providing the situation], and finally my whole collection of story idea notebooks, countless pages of refills, and A4 pages.

Anyway, enjoy!

---

**Life¡¯s Sweet**

**By. Firemoon**

**---**

**Chapter 1: New school, new life**

It was raining heavily that day.

Thick gray fog surrounded the city of New Helic, completely covering what little remains of blue it had left amongst the dark, brooding black clouds. Thanks to that, the city, already remarked by some people as dull and boring as it could be, looked drably than ever before; shabby-looking and old fashioned houses mostly lined the cracked streets, and there were almost none of those high buildings that you usually see in a city to show its head for miles around.

And because of the pouring rain, no people dared to venture outside their warm and cozy homes. The streets were empty, and no sounds were heard except for the swooshing of rain as the wind swept it. All this made the city looking more forlorn and unattractive.

A black limousine sped across the street, splashing water on some elderly man walking by the sidewalk. Ignoring his loud but incoherent cursing and much fist shaking over his tightly-wrapped grocery, it turned around a bend and disappeared from the old man¡¯s view. 

If one had looked closely, they would have noticed that one of the tinted windows was wide open despite the pouring rain. But there was no one out on the practically _flooding _street except for the old man, and so nobody noticed it except for the occupants of the limo.

---

Inside, a dark-gray haired boy of about 15 or 16 was sitting directly next to the open window, firmly keeping his eyes outside towards the gray and dull surroundings and barely glancing at the other person inside the limo. In fact, he did not even give a slightest notice of the other occupant since they first got into the vehicle. The boy ignored the droplets of rain constantly falling in, spattering his face and his black button-up designer shirt.

His whole clothing were black – he didn¡¯t seem to have much of colour sense, that was for sure – and so if it wasn¡¯t for his remarkably pale skin for one with such dark hair, he would have appeared as a very sinister and, if this could be said, satanic figure.

He frowned, one slender finger unnoticingly creeping up to twirl at his rather-long-for-a-boy gray hair as he – with barely concealed displeasure - surveyed the city. That was when the other occupant of the vehicle moved.

Prozen gently but firmly took the boy¡¯s hand away from the gray tresses, and the gray-haired boy frowned slightly. When he spoke, he did not turn his head, so it was more like that he spoke out to the street than to the man who was sitting directly opposite him.

¡°What is it, Prozen?¡±

¡°Tsk, tsk.. Raven, it¡¯s _Father_.¡±

¡°_Foster_-father, you mean.¡±

The ashen-haired man sighed at the boy¡¯s rather acid remark, and tiredly rubbed his temple, lowering his scarlet eyes onto the other hand on his lap. The boy continued looking outside the window.

¡°Raven, Raven.. It has been nearly 11 years. You should be going over that whole ¡®foster¡¯ business.¡±

The boy, Raven as the man called him, did not even glance at the man. Still continuing to stare idly at the not-so-remarkable streets, he asked.

¡°Are we there yet?¡±

At this remark, the man leant forward from his luxuriously padded leather seat, his scarlet eyes examining the boy¡¯s face. His eyes held worry and anxiousness.

¡°Are you feeling alright?¡±

Raven made an exasperated noise, and his gray-violet eyes flicked for a moment to Prozen before gluing their gaze to outside once more.

¡°...I¡¯m alright.¡±

¡°Just tell me if you don¡¯t feel that good, and—¡±

¡°For God¡¯s sake leave me alone for _a single fucking minute_!¡±

The boy shouted angrily, momentarily looking straight at the man inside the car. His violet eyes were narrowed with anger.

¡°Just _stop_ asking questions and _stop_ worrying about me, damn it!¡±

Prozen flinched; it showed that the boy was more stressed then usual. He was usually quite in the car. It was unusual for Prozen to see Raven losing control of his emotions. He did not say anything, and the gray-haired boy sighed, closing his violet depth and leaning back on his seat as if he was tired. A short silence reigned while each of them did not say anything, and suddenly the driver¡¯s voice was heard from a small speaker beside Prozen¡¯s left elbow.

¡°We have arrived, sir.¡±

¡°Good.¡±

Raven muttered as he grabbed his umbrella – as always, it was black – and quickly stepped outside the limo. By this time the rain had subsided a little, and Raven straightened up, smoothing out his shirt with his hand and looking curiously at the grand white building that loomed above him.

It was most quite unusual sight; a drably city, with _this_ modern and expensive looking building in its midst. The gate they have just passed through was also elaborate with carefully wrought metal bars, and its two doors held the same symbol; a lightning and a globe surrounded by crown of laurels. It was actually quite remarkable because all that was made of metal bars, carefully spaced and skillfully thinned.

Raven looked again towards the grandly white building and the field that surrounded it. It was obviously a school – the field and the general mood all spoke of _¡®school¡¯ _– and it was 4 storeys high, about twice higher than any of the buildings around it. Prozen stepped out of the car to stand beside Raven, and laid his hand on the boy¡¯s shoulder. He ignored the boy¡¯s flinching. After a while, Raven opened his mouth.

¡°So, this is it, right?¡±

¡°Yes Raven.¡±

Both the man and the boy looked towards the mainly visible white wall at the front of the building. The broad gold lettering was quite visible even without any sunlight. 

_New Helic High School_

Prozen looked down at the boy.

¡°It¡¯s your new school.¡±

---

¡°Ah, Gunther. How glad I am to see you.¡±

An elderly woman was waiting at the marble doorstep to greet them. She could be considered quite beautiful despite the age, and her elegant dress seemed to heighten that image. She kissed Prozen on both cheeks while Raven stood beside them, silently wondering but deciding not to say anything. The woman finally turned towards him, and stared down at Raven through her curiously shaped glasses. Her rings glittered in the electric light seeping out from inside the building through the open door.

¡°So, this young man is your adopted son that I wanted to see for _so_ many years?¡±

¡°Yes, Aunt Jacqueline, this is Raven.¡±

¡°How do you do, Raven?¡±

Raven looked into the woman¡¯s – _Prozen had an _aunt_?_ – light blue eyes.

¡°I¡¯m fine, thank you.¡±

¡°I¡¯m Jacqueline Camford, and I¡¯m the headmistress of this school. I¡¯m so glad that you¡¯ll be attending this school, since technically you¡¯re my grand nephew. But,¡±

She winked playfully while the rim of her glasses twinkled.

¡°Let¡¯s not tell that to people, shall we?¡±

_Who would want to have _you_ as a great aunt anyway?_ Raven thought as they were led into her comfortable office, and he sat in one of the armchairs that was closest to the door, which was open – there was this _strong_ vanilla smell that could have been an essence or the woman¡¯s perfume – while the two adults sat in front of the desk, sorting out a document or two - ¡°I really _don¡¯t_ want to bother you with this, Gunther, but the school rules—¡± – for a few but painfully slow minutes.

Finally the two adults stood up, and the headmistress – he will _not _call her his great aunt – handed him three or four booklets of differently assorted colours, complete with the school shield printed on the cover.

¡°Well, seeing as all the required documents are settled, I say that we go to the uniform shop to get the boy into our uniform.¡±

---

¡°Perfect! Just perfect! My my, Gunther, I must say that your son looks quite charming in those uniform.¡±

Raven secretly rolled his eyes, ignoring his foster-father and the headmistress who were looking at him quite proudly. He turned around, silently inspecting himself in the mirror.

_The uniform isn¡¯t much,_ he observed, his gray-violet eyes swiftly taking in the black tie and knit jersey, quite plain save from the silver line around the v-neckline. Under that, it was simply nothing more than a white button up shirt, and – again - black pants. 

There was the school shield embroidered with silver threads on the jersey, and Raven mentally sighed at how more paler than normal he looked in all these blacks. He turned around to face the adults, saying the sentence that had been plaguing him since he first laid eyes on the uniform.

¡°I look like a _vampire_.¡±

¡°Oh, no, Raven. You are just..._fairer_ than other people.¡±

Raven suppressed the urge to snort at his foster-father¡¯s rather lame reply, and picked up his thick winter coat, standing there for a moment looking at it. _Well,_ he thought as he looked at himself again in the mirror, dark gray hair nearly blending with the uniform. _I guess that it¡¯s a good thing that the uniform is so plain. The last one was _so_ hard to put on._ He was brought out of his musings by the ashen-haired man, who started talking to the headmistress.

¡°So tomorrow is the start of a school week, is it not, Aunt J?¡±

¡°Yes, it is. Is the boy staying here in the Hostel or—¡±

¡°Raven must stay here, I¡¯m afraid.¡±

Prozen turned to Raven, fixing him with a silent glare with his scarlet eyes before the gray-haired boy could open his mouth.

¡°As I¡¯ve got some important business matters to attend to in Gylos, I think it would be better for you to stay here, Raven.¡±

The headmistress clapped, her countless bracelets jingling merrily.

¡°Good! Now, get your school things, Raven, we¡¯re going to the Hostel now to show you to your room.¡±

Raven picked up the several bags containing uniform and his school books, feeling grouchier than ever before. 

_...I hate this school._

---

_Really, I¡¯m quite hopeless, aren¡¯t I? *nervous laughing* I¡¯m CONTINUEING my other fics.. [meaning Salva Beatos and Love or Hate] It¡¯s just that I had to somehow get rid of this before this idea consumed me and affected my other stories [for example, I would have made Raven really OOC and Prozen really compassionate and fatherly, etc etc – if he ever comes out - in Love or Hate than it ever was, if I had suppressed this idea.]_

_Ok, sorry about the deleting this fic-thing. I guess I kinda got freaked out a little by posting this clich story. I wanted to delete Salva Beatos too, when I first posted it up. Now it¡¯s my no. 1 priority to NOT TO FREAK OUT. Yeah, sorry about the weird formatting... I can¡¯t seem to fix this no matter what. SORRY. Thanks to any who might have reviewed._

Flames accepted with reasons and Reviews welcome!

_Yours Faithfully Fanfictional,_

_Firemoon_


	2. Chapter 2

---

**Life's Sweet**

**By. Firemoon**

**---**

*Pairing: None planned yet, but NON-YAOI/YURI! So let out the children :)

*Category: General/Humour

*Rating: PG-13 for languages.

*Note: it's updated at last :) and I have re-invigorated in ff.net area! Await as my long-delayed fics slowly emerge from the depths of hiatus! *babbles on/the readers tune out*

**Chapter 2: First Day of School = Nightmare**

_"Wake up, you lazy bastard! Wake up, you lazy bastard!"_

"Hmm..??" As the ever-cheerful voice of the alarm clock cheerily announced the arrival of morning, Raven blindly waved his hand towards the general direction of the sound, the other hand coming up to shield his eyes against the bright sunlight that poured through the open window. There was a bang, and a crash, and Raven finally opened his eyes fully and sat up groggily, stretching contentedly like a cat. When his sleep-doused mind finally woke up, Raven stopped in mid-stretch, blue-violet eyes widening.

"Shit," His eyes flew to the clock now lying noiseless on the floor, having been crashed onto the carpet a few minutes earlier. Thankfully, it was still intact. The flashing red light was like a warning sign to the gray-haired boy. 

8:30.

_"Shit!" _He frantically scrambled out of the bed, and still only in his old faded gray T-shirt and black boxers, ran into the bathroom. After a few minutes, Raven came out clad only in a towel around his waist and drying his hair vigorously with another. That was when the main door of his "flat" opened with a soft click and a dark, spiky haired boy about his age burst in, sighing as he closed the door behind him. They both blinked, staring at each other, speechless. The boy broke the awkward silence first by laughing uneasily, one hand scratching his head. "Ha ha..? Sorry for bursting in like this. Didn't know you were here."

Raven hurriedly threw the school shirt on, One hand clutching the knot of the towel tightly. He shot a withering look towards the dark haired boy, discomfort evident in his violet eyes.

"What the hell are you doing in here?"

"Er, this um.. girl was chasing me around again, and I always used to hide in this room when she did."

"So you picked the lock."

"If you see it that way.. yes."

"Gods," Raven muttered as he tried to run a brush through his hair, but the knots in the gray tresses did not give way to it. The boy – still standing in the doorway – snickered softly, and Raven glared darkly at him. He inwardly smirked as the said intruder gulped nervously.

"So, what's your name?"

"Van. Van Flyheight. Yours?"

"Hm," Raven did not answer, but instead threw the abominable brush angrily across the room, where it struck a facing wall and dropped clanging to the floor. He then stalked away to the bathroom, came back out with his black school pants on, and proceeded to tie the school tie around his neck while at the same time turning on the coffee machine in one corner of the counter.

Van, meanwhile, watched the gray haired boy curiously; there weren't many new students coming in the middle of school year, and besides, the waiting list was _way_ too long for that to happen. With a start, he realized that the new boy was glaring at him again with his strange blue-violet eyes. Raven frowned at the boy –- Flyheight – gesturing towards the door. "The school starts in 3 minutes." "Then what about you?"

The gray haired boy rolled his eyes, hmph-ing. He poured some coffee into a mug, and sipped it lightly. "I'm a new student here, if you haven't realized. The headmistress is going to pick me up in about 5 minutes. A _minute_ until the school starts."

_"What? Shit!" _Van turned around and rushed out to the corridor, not caring if Moonbei was still around to catch him, if she dared to be late to school just because of one scrawny little sixth former. [1] His voice floated up the corridor as he ran down frantically, trying his best to not to be late. "See ya, new student! Protect yourself well from the wacko-lady!"

Raven sighed, finishing the last of his coffee. He hoped that he wouldn't meet that Van Flyheight kid anytime soon.

---

"Ah, mister Prozen."

Raven flinched at the headmistress' greeting as she lightly walked towards him in the lobby. The grey haired teen grimaced inwardly as she gripped his arm firmly with her painted hand, and proceeded to walk briskly towards the white building, talking all the while. Raven mentally cursed – to what, he didn't know. The whole situation, I suppose – then suppressed the urge to gag as the sweet perfume drifted towards him.

"I shall be calling you Mr. Prozen from now on, as the school rules do not allow any familiar terms."

"I understand, Headmistress."

"Then come along! We have classes to go, people to meet!"

He was given the timetable at the office, and in the blink of an eye found himself standing in front of the door marked Form 6-A. He barely had time to arrange his crooked tie before the Headmistress swept the door open, making a loud noise - Raven grimaced; _This is _not_ good._ – and walked proudly in first, dragging Raven behind her.

"Professor Hardin, I've got you a new student. This is Mr. Prozen. Mr. Prozen, Professor Hardin."

"Nice to meet you, ma'am."

The said professor was a stern-looking woman with vivid pink hair – _Is THAT even _allowed_?_ – who looked down at Raven with a half-frown. Raven gave a polite greeting, and tried his best to ignore the stares of his classmates, turning his eyes to the surroundings instead. The classroom was alright, and it seemed to him that there were less students in the class than the last school.

Then his eyes fell on the boy who barged into his room. _"You!"_ Raven gasped, pointing a finger at him. The boy was not looking, but at Raven's voice, looked up. He too, jumped up from his chair and shouted. "What the _hell_?"

"Mr. Flyheight! Watch your language!" Professor Hardin barked, and the boy visibly cowered, muttering apology before sitting down again. The Headmistress looked curiously at Raven.

"Do you know each other, Mr. Prozen?"

"Um..kind of. Not really. _No_."

"Hm..." Professor Hardin's hawk-like eyes swept over him, and Raven, in spite of himself, cowered a little. There was something very scary about her that made student like that. She looked over to Van Flyheight and announced in a slightly amused voice. "So then, Mr. Flyheight will be Mr. Prozen¡¯s "buddy" until he gets used to the school. And," She frowned as Van opened his mouth, and he shut it with a snap. "I WILL hear from the other professors if Mr. Prozen is late for his classes because you had abandoned your duties, Mr. Flyheight. Sit, Mr. Prozen," she smirked a rather sadistic, cruel grin. "beside Mr. Flyheight."

Raven growled, but he sat beside the black-haired boy anyway. Professor Hardin smirked again, and Raven suddenly had a recollection of a red-headed teen, a hand on his hips and smirking. He frowned, waving the thought away like a fly. The pink-haired teacher finished her roll call and soon went out of the room, and the class immediately exploded into chatting and laughter, and some crowded around the grey haired boy's desk.

"Wow. A new student! We haven't had one for a while."

"Yeah, they're always 3rd formers, anyway."

"What's your name, other than what the teachers call you?"

"Er.. Raven." He answered uncertainly, and the boys flashed him a grin.

"Cool!"

"What subjects do you take?"

"Hey, HEY! Shut up and let him breath, for God's sake!"

Sighing, Raven looked up to a blonde girl with crimson eyes. She had her hair tied back with a pink ribbon, but bits of thick golden bangs hung around her pale face. She smiled at the grey-haired teen. 

"Hey, I'm Fiona Alissi Lynette. Nice to meet you."

"Raven Prozen."

"So, how do you know Van?" She said as she sat down on the desk in front of them, swinging her legs slightly. "Well.." He shot an annoyed glance at the spiky-haired boy beside him. "He barged into my hostel room this morning." "Oh, so you stay in the hostel too!" She clapped her hands together, and Raven blinked. She explained. "Only some of us stay in the Hostel out of this school, so it'd be nice to have someone else around!" "Oh." "Pheh, I'd be glad to have him NOT around." Raven turned and glared at Van, who had made that remark. "The feeling's mutual." "Stop it you two!" Fiona glared at them, and Van and Raven both hmph-ed.

Mentally, Raven sighed. He really DIDN'T like this new school at all.

---

_[1] NHHS begins from the age of 13 to 18. 13 is 3rd former, 14 is 4th former, and so on. ;)_

_Well.. *nervously looks around* thanks for waiting, O gracious Readers of Ethereal Goodness! *worships* And now, long-awaited replies:_

**_Mimi-chan :_**_ um.. SADLY it is NOT Raven x Van. And I kind of fell out of that pair shipping. BUT I'll finish "Love or Hate", another ficcie of mine which is Raven x Van! Well.. I'll try to.. *shifty glance* **Kyaukii :** thank you! *hugs* **Red Baroness :** Whoa, how long was it since I updated? *checks* Freezing Hell, 5 MONTHS?!!! Oh.. *faints* **Distant Stars : **thank you! *bows* and btw, WHEN are you going to update ¡°Remember the Forgotten¡±? *glares/hands to Distant Stars the MIGHTY INSPIRATION COOKIE* **Plink : **Wow. Thank you for kindly reviewing this story! Now I feel all hype now *laughs insanely* and no, Gunther is NOT going to be paired up with Hiltz in this fic....or is he? *smirks/bashed* **Hannah :** thank you! *hugs* I will try to write chapters for the other fics. I'm trying now, even with piling homeworks and assignments and tests of DOOM._

_-READ? THEN REVIEW! Remember, the author WORSHIPS AND ADORES YOU AND WILL KISS ALL YOUR FEET IF YOU REVIEW!-_

_Yours Faithfully Fanfictional,_

_Firemoon_


End file.
